The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name `Eckansley`.
The new Poinsettia is a naturally-occurring branch mutation of the commercial Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar `Lilo`, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,694. The new Poinsettia was selected by the Inventor in a greenhouse in Encinitas, Calif., in 1996. The objective of the Inventor's Poinsettia development program is to select new Poinsettia cultivars having interesting bract and leaf display, color and form; strong and freely branching stems; and good post-production longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by terminal cuttings taken at Encinitas, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.